Thursday, July 19, 2007

The Jungle Grapevine!

Yesterday we received a phone call from a dear indian friend. He is a teacher in our village and was in the town of Ciudad Bolivar for a Teacher's Conference. He called my old Venezuelan cell phone which I had left with my nephew. Jason gave him my number here and what a joy it was to hear his voice and get caught up on all the people in the village.

He told us that the church is continuing well under the leadership of Pastor Victor. What a blessing to hear this! He also mentioned that there has not been any medicine in the village for several months. Another friend was just brought out by canoe to the hospital as the government could not send a plane. Typical.

As far as he could recall, no medical flights have been done in our area since we had to leave with the plane nearly two years ago. He said they only come when they want something, like votes!!! Or to talk bad about the missionaries.

He told me the Christians continue to have prayer meetings in Maripa and Bolivar, and that they had been praying for us. This made me cry. They are worried for us!!! He says that he will not be able to continue much longer with the teaching as he could not agree with the "indoctrination" they are asking him to teach.

All was not good news, the village " nurse", (trained by missionaries, by the way) was in Bolivar as well. His wife has been diagnosed with uterine cancer. They had started a round of chemo, but due to the wonders of Socialized Medicine, were not able to finish it

She was returned to Maripa to wait and die. I asked about pain medication. He said she had none and was just laying in her hammock. This is a Christian sister of mine and it hurts me to think of what she must be going through. Pray for Evelina and her husband Timoteo.

I also spoke with his 7 year old daughter on the phone. She practically grew up in my house and I was so happy to hear her chatter away and that she remembered us!! I asked her in Ye'kwana," Do you know God?" she answered, " EE!!! Wanaadi, dhowanaca!! ( YES! I know God!)That made me happy to hear. Her mother is like a daughter to me.

Prayers were just offered up for Evelina, Timoteo, and their little daughter. This brought tears and a broken heart, not just for them but for you and Clint and the girls. I know you will always wonder about dear friends you had to leave behind. I hate to think of the poor dear lady lying in a hammock with no pain medication for her cancer! "Lord, please give her grace!"

What you're sharing reads like a story from the Bible, something Paul might be doing. I pray for your family, and the heartache of leaving longtime friends in such a dangerous place. I pray especially for the lady who is dying, and ask God to go with her in whatever she faces. I don't know you very well yet, but your works and the faith it tkes to carry it out shine brightly. I do not say this lightly; your life work is an inspiration to me.

I still have a faded story I wrote that I hoped the newspaper would use. Cuban refugees made it from Castro's dictatorshipto the port of my hometown, Beaumont, Texas. I met them at the Red Cross shelter they were brought to. Young and old, and some women and a few children, they hadn't eaten or bathed in days. They were sunburned badly, and exhausted, but wouldn't eat or drink until we made a makeshift altar for their religious relics, and they knelt at the blanket covered Red Cross boxes, and gave thanks for surving in fishing boats until a British Steamer rescued them. This was my first realization of how much the human heart must be free. It was October, 1963.God Bless America, and bless people like you!